† NICOLAE

by the mercies of God
Archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States and
Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas

To our Beloved Clergy and Orthodox Christians,
grace, peace, and joy from Christ the Lord, and from us hierarchical blessings.

“Make merry, O heaven and earth, as the Prophets foretold!
Celebrate in the spirit, O Angels and men!
God is born from a Virgin and appears in the flesh to those who sit in darkness and shadow.”
(Verse from the Litia of the Feast)

Very Reverend Fathers, Beloved Faithful,

The Feast of the Lord’s Nativity again offers us an occasion for joy and for proclaiming the wonder that took place in the cave of Bethlehem, the descent of God to earth that He might bring mankind to Himself, free them from darkness and shadow, and renew and illumine the entire creation. The songs of the holy festal services and the Church Fathers declare and explain the miracle of the illumination of mankind and of all creation through the Incarnation of the Son of God.

The disobedience of Adam at Eve’s prompting brought estrangement from God and death to mankind. This is the ancestral sin in which all mankind exists, from Adam to Christ. But God found a way to bring correction, again through woman, through the Virgin Mary: “You have borne the Savior, O Virgin Theotokos. You have overthrown Eve’s ancient curse. You became the mother of the Son of God. The Father is well-pleased in Him. You carry at your bosom God, the Word, made flesh. We cannot fathom this mystery. We can only believe, and give glory with you: O Lord, beyond all explanation, glory to You!”[1] By a woman sin came and also by a woman deliverance, for the Virgin Mary turns the disobedience and pride of Adam and Eve into obedience and humility through the words “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be unto me according to Your Word.”[2]

The Holy Confessor Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, until recently known as a professor and great Orthodox theologian, responds to the question: What has the full revelation that we have in Jesus Christ given us?[3] His response clarifies in the first place the problem of mankind fallen into sin, a clarification with insights valuable for every person, of yesterday and today, who is separated from communion with God: “Man is thus in an abnormal state before rebirth (through Christ)... the man in whom the subject of communion has not been born... is in a state of evil. He consciously hinders the birth of the subject in his neighbor and his selfishness has no limits. Not only does he not know of communion, but he is against it. This enmity is a conscious opposition against God and has the character of sin, not of a simply incompleteness of nature. He does not love God, does not love his neighbor, he obstructs the path of God’s intentions for man, and all this because he loves himself with a selfish, false love... In every possible way he sins against God, and his sin against God is unto his own destruction and that of his neighbor. His turning away from God toward himself as the center of his preoccupations automatically brings about his immersion in obscurity of mind, in weakening of the will, in selfish and torturous loneliness.[4] In this presentation of mankind fallen into sin, separated from God and isolated in egotistical self-love, we find the image of fallen Adam multiplied in every human being, from Adam to Christ, and after Christ in every person fallen, through sin, from the redemption brought by the Son of God Incarnated in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

The re-establishment of communion with God, of the re-strengthening of man’s will, of liberation from selfishness, of the illumination of his mind and conscience, could not have been accomplished through the effort of man: “the initiative of the re-establishment of man’s communion with God had to begin from God, coming first into maximum nearness to man, that man might be deeply shaken regarding his profound guilt... the Incarnation of the Son of God was the beginning of communion with men. It was not merely a passing means in the service of God’s love, but the very supreme demonstration of love.”[5]

St. Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, also speaks of the humble love of God revealed in the Incarnation of His Son: “When the time previously decided for the salvation of mankind arrived, the Son of God entered into the lowest regions of this world, descending from the heavenly throne while not leaving the parental glory, being born of a totally new order... The Uncontainable One willed to be contained; the One before all time began to exist in time; the Lord of all, hiding the brilliance of His glory, received the appearance of a slave; the passionless God did not scorn to become a man subject to passion, and He Who is immortal willingly was subjected to death.”[6] St. Leo explains the humble love of God revealed by St. Paul the Apostle in his beautiful hymn from the Epistle to the Philippians 2:5-11: “...Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

The revelation of this humble love of God for mankind is the cause of the joy of the celebration of the Lord’s Birth, sung by angels and announced to all mankind: “Let us rejoice in the Lord, dearly beloved, and let us exult, celebrating spiritually, for the new day of salvation has dawned for us, a day that has long been prepared, a day of eternal blessedness. For the circling of the year again brings to us the mystery of our salvation, promised from the beginning, fulfilled in the end, which will remain forever. On this day it is fitting that we lift up our hearts and worship the divine mystery, for what is accomplished through a great gift of God should be treasured with great joy by the Church.”[7]

My challenge to you at this glorious feast is that we lift up our hearts, that we not fear because of rumors of crises, upheavals and wars, but that we put all our hope in the care and help of God. He has sent us a Savior; He guides our steps in this complicated and troubled world. The Christian is the one who can inspire hope in his neighbor that our world will find peace. The Christian is the one who, with a heart peaceful and full of the joy of the Lord’s Birth, can bring equilibrium into a society divided through politic, social, cultural, and religious motives. We Romanian Christians in America, together with our brethren who have accepted the Good News, can be the proclaimers of peace and understanding among humanity, imitating the angels from heaven who proclaimed to the shepherds the great wonder of the Incarnation of the Son of God. I pray that Christ the Lord, Who is born in the manger of Bethlehem, may strengthen us and illumine us, may bless every priest and believer, every parish and monastery of our Archdiocese.

With a fraternal embrace in Christ the Lord, my wish is that you experience the holy feasts of Christmas, the New Year, and Theophany with health, peace, and spiritual joys!

Your brother in prayer unto God,

† Metropolitan NICOLAE

            Chicago, the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity, 2024

[1] Stihira 3, Laude, Utrenia Praznicului.

[2] Luca 1, 38.

[3] Dumitru Stăniloae, Iisus Hristos sau restaurarea omului, Editura Basilica, București, 2013, p. 115.

[4] Ibidem, p. 116.

[5] Ibidem, p. 120.

[6] Sf. Leon cel Mare, Predici la Nașterea și Arătarea Domnului și la perioada Penticostarului, Editura Reîntregirea, Alba Iulia, 2016, p. 18.

[7] Ibidem, p. 17.